The cleanest and most sustainable way to produce electricity is using technologies that harness renewable energy. Mainstream sources of renewable energy are the sun, wind, water, and geothermal heat. Renewable resources by definition are inexhaustible – they cannot be used up – and are capable of fulfilling humankind’s increasing energy need without causing any direct pollution as they typically have zero emissions.
Wind power is the conversion of the kinetic energy in wind into electricity. In recent years, wind energy has become one of the fastest growing renewable energy resources in the world. In 2011, more than 40,000 megawatts of wind capacity were installed worldwide, with Asia leading in annual installed capacity.
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Leading countries with relatively high cumulative capacity of wind energy generation are China, USA and Germany. Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. Following climate, pollution, and energy security concerns, increasing government support and significantly reducing costs, wind power is playing major role as an alternative to conventional sources in meeting global energy consumption.
Sun is the source of generating winds. The sun’s heat causes the air to warm up in patches, resulting in some patches of the air becoming warm and some patches remaining cold. Hot air becomes lighter in weight hence moving upwards, colder air fills up the space left by hot air as it is heavier. This rapid movement of air produces winds. Wind turbines use the kinetic energy in the wind to make electricity. When wind is blowing, it makes the propeller blades rotate. From the movement of blades, generator produces electricity. To produce more electricity with wind power, multiple wind turbines are installed in wind farms.
